Pawel Wimmer: Praising SuperMemo. Ex Occidente lux

This reference is used to annotate "History of spaced repetition" (2018) by Piotr Wozniak

I wish Piotr Wozniak, author of the SuperMemo method, came up with a solution to low IQ. I think we will need to wait for that a bit longer. In the meantime, the scientist from Poznan, showed a stroke of genius by building a program that can maximize the use of human memory. We have known for ages that "repetitio est mater studiorum". However, we have not had a method to efficiently organize review so that we did not waste time on things we know, and could maximize the learning effect in things that are hard to remember. SuperMemo solves this key problem by drawing from empirical research and statistical analysis. [...] I have experimented with learning the vocabulary of one of artificial languages for a few months. Despite breaking some of the rules, the success of that experiment is more than obvious. The range of the mastered vocabulary and the time invested go well beyond any known standards. This really works! [...] Knowledge feeds intelligence, which can find rules in the chaos of detail. This is why I consider this program so important. This is, de facto, more than SuperMemo. This is SuperIntelligence. Perhaps Wozniak did indeed find a formula for the growth of cortical gyri. Perhaps we will see more students actually learning

Title: Praising SuperMemo

Author: Pawel Wimmer

Date: Nov 2, 1992

Link (in Polish): Praising SuperMemo

Backlink: How SuperMemo World nearly failed